Sunrise Until Sunset Jayfeather's Story
by x.Light Lawliet.x
Summary: My name is Jayfeather, and I have a grave feeling that this peace will not last long. There’s something coming, and I think that the forces of the Dark Forest are buidling their "army" to attack the 4 Clans of the lake.
1. Prolouge

_**Sunrise Until Sunset…Dusk Until Dawn **_

_**Prologue ~ Jayfeather's Introduction**_

I am a cat of ThunderClan. I am known as their sole Medicine Cat. There were two of use, myself and Leafpool. But, something terrible happened, and Leafpool forced herself to retire from the spot of medicine cat. She is a warrior of ThunderClan now, and I, Jayfeather – her son – have taken the permanent spot as our Clan's Medicine Cat. Usually, Medicine Cats are not allowed to have kits. There are a few cats that I know of, that have broken this unwritten law of the Clans.

One of them would be my mother, Leafpool. This was most recent, not that many seasons ago. She gave birth to myself, and my two other littermates, Hollyleaf and Lionblaze – who even has his own apprentice, Dovepaw. She didn't mate with a cat of her own Clan, though. She chose to mate with Crowfeather - and he is for who I was named – a WindClan warrior. Crowfeather has one other kit, Breezepelt. He is the son of Crowfeather and Nightcloud, a WindClan she-cat. Breezepelt doesn't like our Clan, for what his father did. He thinks that Leafpool betrayed his father, and thus, he hates myself and my siblings the most out of all the ThunderClan.

To make matters worse, her and her sister – my aunt – Squirrelflight lied to the whole Clan about our birth. They lead the whole Clan to think that we were the children of Brambleclaw, the ThunderClan deputy, and Squirrelflight. Brambleclaw never even knew about us not being his kits, until Hollyleaf revealed it at the Gathering a few moons back. I can still remember the reactions of all the cats there, like it was a sunrise ago. It was the most shocking thing that I know of, and I still wish Hollyleaf hadn't done it.

The other cat is Yellowfang, the old Medicine Cat of ShadowClan, exiled by Brokenstar, who turned out to be her son. Yellowfang was first a prisoner of ThunderClan, found by our leader, Firestar, when he was just an apprentice, namely Firepaw. The Medicine Cat before Yellowfang was Spottedleaf, a kind and very gentle tortoiseshell she-cat, and she was killed by Clawface of ShadowClan, when Brokenstar and his warriors attacked. In a nutshell, Brokenstar was taken prisoner by his mother, and that's where he ended up dying – by his mother's own front paws, and some deathberries.

When Yellowfang became our Medicine Cat, she didn't have an apprentice. Then along came Cinderpelt. That's another story all on its own. She started out as Firestar's apprentice, but, then got hurt along the Thunderpath, and wasn't able to use her hind leg properly (to train, hunt and other things like that) ever again. She began to train under Yellowfang, and then became a full Medicine Cat when her mentor died trying to rescue an elder from a fire.

Leafpool trained under Cinderpelt, and they were very close. After Cinderpelt died trying to defend Sorreltail's newborn kits from a badger attack, she was reborn right then and there as Cinderheart, then Cinderkit – one of Sorreltail's tiny kits. To this day, Cinderheart does not know about being the reincarnation of Cinderpelt, and Leafpool and I are the only ones that do know. Leafpool felt that Cinderheart didn't need to know about her former life, and that it might have hindered her warrior training. Now, Cinderheart has her own apprentice, Ivypaw.

For once in a long while, the prey is running really well in ThunderClan and the Clan is very well feed. Thanks to Lionblaze and Dovepaw of ThunderClan, Tigerheart and Toadfoot of ShadowClan, Petalfur and Rippletail of RiverClan, and Whitetail and Sedgewhisher of WindClan. They were the eight cats that had traveled – it's too many fox leaps to count, so don't be asking how far - past ShadowClan territory to find the water – which was being blocked by something that Lionblaze said were called beavers. Ugly brown things with very thick and stiff tails, from what I've been told – and they are much worse than badgers, they say. The beavers were the ones that were blocking the water. To add to the problem, it hadn't rained for what felt like moons.

All journeys must come to an end, though. Sadly, one warrior's life came to an end very early. Too early to know the path that StarClan laid out for him. Rippletail's life ended way to early, killed by a beaver. Or so I'm told. I don't know if it's true. StarClan have not shared this with me – or any of the other Medicine Cats. I would have known if they told Mothwing or Willowshine about it.

The reason I say that, is because I can walk in a cat's dreams. I'm not part of StarClan, yet, somehow, I have been blessed with this power. As far as I know, there aren't very many cats that know about my power. Hollyleaf, Lionblaze and Leafpool are the only ones that know in my Clan. There are StarClan cats that know, but, that's not important.

There's something else I should mention, now. There was a prophecy. It was given to Firestar by an elderly cat, on his deathbed. What that old cat said, is "_There will be three. Kin of your kin, who hold the power of the Stars in their paws." _I thought that it would mean myself, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf. However, we were wrong.

When Hollyleaf died, I noticed that Dovepaw and Ivypaw – who are Whitewing and Birchfall's two daughters, and they were kits back then – were still kin of Firestar, though Whitewing, daughter of Cloudtail, Firestar's nephew and son to our leader's kittypet sister, Princess. Her mother is Brightheart, my former mentor. I'm not going to explain the whole story as to how I became Leafpool's apprentice and no longer Brightheart's…but… To make it short and sweet, I followed Leafpool to the Moonpool one night, and that where Spottedleaf told me that it was my destiny to become a medicine cat.

Now, it's just me in the Medicine Den. I thought that Toadstep would have shown some interest in becoming my apprentice, but, I guessed wrong. I'll have an apprentice of my own one day, but, for now… I have a lot of time to help my Clan. StarClan will give me an apprentice when they feel that I'm ready. Not that it really matters to me, though. It's peaceful without a hyperactive young apprentice bouncing around.

But, I have a grave feeling that this peace will not last long. There's something coming, and I think that the forces of the Dark Forest – where all the evil and ill-intentioned cats, including Tigerstar, Hawkfrost and a few others go when they die. I think that they have recruited Breezepelt and even Dovepaw's sister, Ivypaw, as I've seen her pull off moves that only Lionblaze had known about, and he didn't tell anyone. It's coming, and one day, all 4 Clans will need to unite to destroy the oncoming threat.


	2. A New Mentor and Apprentice

_**Author's Note: A big thanks to my best friend on a Warrior Cats RPG site, Cheer4CiCi for coming up with the name Tigertree (who is Silverpaw's father). [Love ya, CiCi!] Also, thanks to everyone who gave me positive reviews on the prologue. You've given me a reason to continue the story!**_

**Chapter 1 ~ A New Mentor and Apprentice**

"Let all those cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Firestar's call rang throughout the ThunderClan camp. The leader of ThunderClan made his way to the very tip of the rock, his flame colored ginger pelt shining in the sunlight. As he made his way, the Clan began to gather below the rock, some trying to sit close, so they could see the ceremony.

Poppyfrost emerged from the nursery, with her two kits, Molekit and Cherrykit, tumbling besides her. Berrynose, their father, watched them with nothing but care and love in his eyes. "Adorable, aren't they?"Poppyfrost nodded at Berrynose's question and their tails twined together.

As the young family sat around the nursery, Ferncloud walked out, with Dustpelt beside her. The queen had just figured out that she was expecting Dustpelt's newest litter of kits, and the tom seemed about ready to jump to StarClan to voice his happiness.

Over at the Medicine Den, Jayfeather poked his sightless, gray tabby head out to see what was going on. Beneath Highrock, there was a small silver tabby kit, who looked like she was going to faint. Jayfeather guessed that this was her apprentice ceremony, and stepped outside to see what was going on. He turned his head to face the large rock at which his leader stood, when the ginger tom's voice rang out again.

"Cats of ThunderClan! I call you together for one of my favorite duties. Silverkit has reached her sixth moon, and I see that it is time for her to become an apprentice." Firestar beckoned the little kit with his tail. "Silverkit. Are you ready to become an apprentice of ThunderClan, and learn the ways of our Clan, and the Warrior Code?"

The small silver tabby looked up, with determination in her eyes. "Yes. I am." She meowed happily. She tried to stop her tail from flicking, but, that proved to no avail.

Firestar leaped down to the ground, and walked over to the small cat. "StarClan! I ask you to watch over this apprentice, as she promises to learn your code. I ask you watch over her, and teach her well. From now until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Silverpaw." Firestar's green gaze searched the crowd, until he found the cat he was looking for. He located him, sitting between Icecloud and Lionblaze.

"Foxleap." He beckoned to the reddish tom with his tail, and the warrior walked up to Silverpaw. "You were lucky to have a mentor like Squirrelflight, and I know she taught you well. I ask that you pass on all that you've learned from her, and teach it to young Silverpaw. StarClan watch over you both."

"Of course, Firestar." Foxleap purred, and walked over to touch noses with his first apprentice. "You're doing fine." He whispered to the shy she-cat.

"Thanks, Foxleap." Silverpaw replied back. The silver she-cat was obviously named for her fur color, but, she had a black tail and she flicked it with joy.

"Silverpaw! Foxleap!" The cats of ThunderClan yowled with joy for the new apprentice and her mentor. The voices of Ferncloud, Dustpelt, - Foxleap's mother and father - and Silverpaw's mother and father, Nightheart and Tigertree, rose above the rest of the Clan.

After the crowd had died down, Foxleap turned to his apprentice. "So, Silverpaw." He started, with much excitement in his voice. "Do you want to take a tour of the territory, or would you rather find a den and rest for a while?" Foxleap really didn't know what to do, so, he just did what his old mentor had done for him; Ask him what he wanted to do.

Silverpaw chose the same answer that Foxleap did. "I want to go outside! Race you to the entrance!" Before Foxleap could reply, Silverpaw bounded away to the entrance of the camp. "Foxleap, you're slow!"

Foxleap shook his head. He could see that this was going to be rough training, for both him and Silverpaw. "Hey, Silverpaw, get…back here." His voice faltered and his warning went unheard as his apprentice ran out of the camp and into the woods beyond. He gave his pelt a shake, and followed Silverpaw outside, shaking his head and muttering something about this being one interesting

----

As the ceremony ended, Jayfeather walked back to his own den. Even though it had been a long time since Leafpool had left the Medicine Den, Jayfeather could still smell her scent, as it lingered in the back, near the medicine supplies. The scent brought him back to a time when he didn't know about the secret that Leafpool his and the lies that his so-called "mother" had hid. Then his memories floated back to the time where he found out about the secret. It wasn't a very exciting time, though. ThunderClan already had problems. Sol, a cat who thought he knew more than StarClan, had taken over ShadowClan, and was trying to take over the whole lake.

"Jayfeather?" spoke a voice, jolting the Medicine Cat from his thoughts. "Jayfeather? You okay?"

The gray tabby didn't even turn his head. He didn't need eyes to know that the tom speaking was Firestar, his leader. From the sound of his voice, he seemed like he had something on his mind, that he wanted to talk about.

"Yes, Firestar? What can I do for you?" Jayfeather's voice wasn't as tart as normal, like he was happy that he had someone to talk to.

"How are you, Jayfeather? Are you doing okay with being the only medicine cat?" Firestar was avoiding the subject, which was something that he usually didn't do.

Jayfeather flinched. He wasn't expecting something like that to come from his leader. "I'm doing okay. I could use a little help every now and then though. Sometimes, I wish Leafpool was still here." He stopped as he thought of what he just said. He hadn't told anyone about himself missing Leafpool.

"I understand. After all, she is your mother, and my daughter. Even though I'm not happy with what she's done, we need to move on, because if we dwell in the past, ThunderClan as a whole will never succeed." Firestar sat down, and put his tail over his front paws. "That's not what I'm here for, though."

"Well, then what do you need? If it's about Hollyleaf, I have not seen her in any of my dreams with StarClan." Jayfeather said that last bit very sharply. Because Hollyleaf was his littermate, he didn't like to speak about her like she was dead. He tried his best not to even talk about it.

"This is not about Hollyleaf. Actually, it's about Cherrykit, you know, Poppyfrost and Berrynose's little one. I've noticed that she's taking a liking to talking about you, and what you do. I was just in there the other day, talking to Ferncloud and Dustpelt, when she asked me a question that she should have come to you for." Firestar paused, and waited for Jayfeather to comment.

"Well, she should have come to me. I may be blind, but that doesn't mean I have a sour attitude about everything." Jayfeather laughed as he made a crack about himself, lightening the mood a bit. "What did she ask?"

Firestar looked Jayfeather right in the eyes, and his green gaze was serious. "She wants to become your apprentice. I was going to tell her to do it herself, but, she seemed so worried that you would cast her away. I could tell, even if she didn't directly say it to me."

Jayfeather was shocked. He would have never thought that Cherrykit, of all of ThunderClan, would have liked to become _his_ apprentice. Jayfeather's attitude was famous, and known among the Clans. In a sense, he was just like Cloudtail, with the exception that Cloudtail was much older, and he was a warrior – something Jayfeather once aspired to be.

"Well, what can I tell Poppyfrost and Cherrykit?" Firestar prompted. "I should be going soon, I have a patrol that I'd like to lead." The ginger tom got up and started pacing around, his tail flicking in agitation.

"You are not telling Cherrykit or Poppyfrost anything. I want to tell them both. She can become my apprentice, but, it's not going to be anywhere near easy." Jayfeather turned his back on his leader, flicked his tail, and walked farther into the medicine den.

"_StarClan…" _He thought as he went back to his nest and sat down. "_If you've got something planned, tell me. Should I really take an apprentice this early?"_


	3. Takeoff

**Note: All events are mixed in with the actual story. Longtail does not die in this, and Briarlight isn't crippled either. There's a few other changes as well, and I'll let you notice them for yourself.**

**Thanks to member **_**To Seek The Truth**_** (Truthy!) for making me write something worthwhile!**

**Also, thanks to all who reviewed the previous chapter!**

**If anyone has any ideas for the next chapters, please tell me. I'm always open for suggestions / ideas / improvements!**

A light breeze was blowing. There were no clouds in the sky for quite some distance, and the sun shone brightly above the lake. From above, in the sky, it looked as if there were little specks walking around, nothing but ants, scurrying up and down the lakeshore. Actually, those little specks were cats. There were a few specks, and they kept running and jumping at each other.

Way down below, a small she-cat leapt at another cat. Her claws were sheathed though, as to not cause any harm. They were training, and this was one of Silverpaw's first times out of camp to train. Because of the nice weather, Foxleap had suggested that they train on ThunderClan's part of the lakeside, so, they could train, and also hunt for food at the same time, kind of like a dual-training session. Firestar had suggested it to Foxleap the day before.

Sometimes, though, the elders walk down themselves to get water, but, most of the time, they get warriors to bring them moss soaked with water. The same is with the queens, whose kits are too young for their mother to leave their side.

"Silverpaw! Excellent leap!" praised Foxleap, Silverpaw's mentor. Foxleap usually didn't give out praise that often, as he got that from his father, Dustpelt. "However, you might need to improve on your speed just a little bit."

Silverpaw was only an apprentice for half a moon, but, she was showing signs of being a remarkable fighter. The only bad thing about the small apprentice was her speed. Naturally, small cats are fast, like WindClan, but Silverpaw had more strength then speed. Sometimes, she had more strength then she knew what to do with.

"Now," Foxleap continued "Try and run at me, but, with more power in your legs. Come on, Tigertree is one of the fastest cats in ThunderClan, aside from Sandstorm, you should be able to run a little faster." Foxleap laughed as his last words came out.

"Okay. I'll give it a shot. Just because my father's fast, doesn't mean that I am, though!" Silverpaw meowed as she dashed back over, leaping at her mentor.

Foxleap let out a _hruff_ as he was unexpectedly plowed over by Silverpaw. The tabby tom was covered in dust and other specks of something-or-other. Foxleap heaved himself up off the ground, and shook all the debris off himself. "Silverpaw. I wasn't expecting that." Silverpaw didn't know if her mentor was mad, or if he was playing.

"Foxleap? Are you okay?" Silverpaw asked, genuinely worried. She really hoped that she hadn't hurt him.

"I might have to go and talk to Firestar about you. There's something that I have in mind for you, but, I want to okay it with him before I do anything." Foxleap's expression was serious. His eyes were unreadable as he got up and started walking towards camp. "Come on, you look like you're getting hungry; do you want to go back to camp and maybe grab a bite to eat along the way?"

"Yeah! I could go for a mouse or two! Maybe I could even find something for Mousefur; she said something about being in the mood for a blackbird when I was cleaning her nest this morning." Silverpaw jumped up and dashed past Foxleap, her blue eyes gleaming with some happy expression.

Silverpaw did get her mouse, and she even managed to grab something for Mousefur too. As Silverpaw and Foxleap walked back into camp, their jaws filled with fresh-kill, Foxleap's sister, Icecloud, came running up to them.

"You're back!" Icecloud said. "Firestar's just called a clan meeting. It seems that he has something planned for Poppyfrost's kits, Molekit and Cherrykit. I think they're old enough to become apprentices." There was something in Icecloud's eyes that made her brother think that it was time she was a mentor herself.

"Wow. Already? It seems like it was just yesterday that they were newborns, mewling next to Poppyfrost's belly. They were loud then. StarClan only knows how they'll be now." Silverpaw mewed to Foxleap and Icecloud. "Shall I take the fresh-kill to the pile?" she asked Foxleap.

"No, I'll take care of it, Silverpaw. Go with Icecloud and sit near the front. I'll be there soon." Foxleap told his apprentice as he grabbed the kill in his mouth and walked away. Silverpaw nodded her head and started to follow Icecloud, who had already walked away from the two cats back to the front of the now-crowded area of cats.

When Silverpaw sat down, she looked around. She could see Graystripe sitting next to Millie, his mate. Cloudtail and Sorreltail sat next to them. Dustpelt, Ferncloud and Sandstorm sat near them, and all three of them gazed up at the highrock. A little farther from them, sat Lionblaze, his apprentice, Dovepaw, and Jayfeather – the medicine cat. Lionblaze gave a look to Jayfeather, who nodded in return.

Dovepaw seemed to not notice, and Silverpaw followed her gaze up to highrock, where Firestar sat, with Brambleclaw, the ThunderClan deputy, was next to him. The two ThunderClan cats that everyone aspired to be. Leader and deputy. Firestar only had two lives left, and it was sad to think that such a great cat could be replaced by Brambleclaw.

Firestar was leader of ThunderClan before the Great Journey, and even long before that. He was bound to be getting old, the same with a few other cats in the clan, like his mate, Sandstorm, and Graystripe, his best friend. Brackenfur even looked older then he was.

Suddenly, Firestar's voice rang throughout the clearing. "I have two bits of news to share with you, ThunderClan!" Firestar paused, and stared down at the cats seated up front. "Actually, this first bit is a bit of sad news. I come to tell you that Graystripe, Dustpelt and Sandstorm are retiring to the elder's den. These three warriors have served this Clan before I even came along. Graystripe, Sandstorm and Dustpelt." He jumped down and touched each of the warriors in turn, and continued with his speech. "I wish each and every one of you a long and happy life in the elder's den. ThunderClan thanks you for your service. Now you deserve many long moons of rest."

"Graystripe! Sandstorm! Dustpelt!" yowled the crowd of cats. Each of the cats in ThunderClan knew how each of the new elders proved their strength, time and time again.

"Now, my next piece of news is a little more happy. Poppyfrost's kits, Cherrykit and Molekit, have each reached their sixth moon, so, now I have decided that they become apprentices." Firestar's voice still sounded strong, despite that if he were a warrior, he would have retired to the elder's den with his mate and best friend.

"Molekit." Firestar addressed the dark cream tom-kit. Molekit's eyes grew wide when the leader said his name. "Until the day you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Molepaw. May StarClan guide you on your path."

"Now, for Molepaw's mentor." Firestar murmured to himself, so that no one could hear. "Sorreltail." He called to the tortoiseshell she-cat, who was sitting next to Cloudtail. "You have known patience, and great suffering. Sandstorm was your mentor, and I trust you to pass on all that you have learned from her. This is your first apprentice, and I think that it is long overdue."

The ThunderClan camp got loud as the new apprentice and his mentor's name were shouted. "Molepaw! Sorreltail!"

After the cries of the Clan died down, Firestar raised his voice yet again. "Now, I call forth Cherrykit!"

The small ginger daughter of Poppyfrost padded forward. Even though she looked calm, her eyes betrayed what she was really feeling – fright.

"From this day on, until you earn you full Clan name, you shall be known as Cherrypaw." The new apprentice looked upset, if something was bothering her. Firestar must have noticed this, because his tail flicked in understanding. "Don't worry Cherrypaw. I'm looking for your mentor now." There he was, the gray tabby he was looking for. He was sitting next to Lionblaze, his brother. "Jayfeather!" he called, above the crowd, so that the blind tabby could hear him.

"Yes, Firestar?" Jayfeather answered his leader's call. The medicine cat knew what was coming, but, he had to play it by the rituals that his clan used for many many seasons.

"Are you ready to take upon an apprentice?" Firestar asked this question, and Cherrypaw had to restrain herself from jumping up and down with joy.

Jayfeather's sightless gaze drifted up and down the rows of cats. His gaze briefly rested on Leafpool and her sister, Squirrelflight. Then, he whipped his head back to look at Firestar. "Yes, I am." He replied.

"Then, by the powers given to me by StarClan, I entrust you with Cherrypaw. From now on, until you mentor decides," He directed his words at Cherrypaw, and the ginger cat was listening intently to every word the leader said. "…you shall be a medicine cat apprentice. May StarClan light both of your paths, Cherrypaw and Molepaw."

"Cherrypaw! Jayfeather! Molepaw! Sorreltail!" yowled the crowd, one last time.

As Jayfeather padded up to his new apprentice, a thought occurred to him. "_Now Leafpool has no choice. She has to stay a warrior. Even if she wanted to come back, I have Cherrypaw now. There's not enough room in ThunderClan for three medicine cats."_


End file.
